Naidu begins yatra

Pondugula (Guntur): Telugu Desam supremo N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday launched his much-talked-about ‘Telugu Prajala Atma Gowrava Yatra’ (Journey for self-respect of Telugu people) three and a half hours late in this tiny village. While the yatra was scheduled to start at 11 am, Chandrababu Naidu reached the Vadapalli village in Nalgonda district on the banks of river Krishna at 12 noon. He then drove to a private guest house and conferred with senior leaders of the party.

The TDP chief held three hours of discussions with leaders from both Telangana and Seemandhra regions, as hundreds of people waited at Pondugula on the other side of the river. Though what transpired during the discussions was not immediately known, it is believed that Chandrababu Naidu had directed Seemandhra leaders to speak for Samaikyandhra, while he targets the Congress, YSR Congress and the TRS holding them responsible for the mess.

After the three-hour marathon session at the guest house, Naidu got into a car and drove straight to the Pondugula village. He shifted to an open-top vehicle after reaching the middle of the bridge and to the village where, by then people had gathered in large numbers. The party Guntur district unit president, Prathipati Pulla Rao, Narasaraopet MP, M Venugopala Reddy and the Gurazala MLA Y Srinivasa Rao criticised the Congress and the YSR Congress for dividing the State. They also raised slogans in support of an integrated State and extended support to the agitating NGOs, employees, students and others.

The leaders were clear in their speeches that they stood for an integrated State and opposed the division. Chandrababu Naidu, who spoke for one hour, targeted the Congress for the crisis. He extended support to the Samaikyandhra agitation in Seemandhra region, but did not speak about Telangana. The TD chief will be touring the five Assembly segments in the district over the next five days, addressing wayside meetings.